The Power of Care

 The Power of Care

 

I am now an official graduate of the West Chester Citizens Police Academy. There were no caps and gowns. No band. No valedictory Speech. No…nothing like that. But there was lasagna. 

    

It’s been quite an experience. I have learned and done so much over these past ten weeks. 

    I completed a “ride along”from 7:00pm on a Saturday night until 2:00am on a Sunday morning. (And note, I did call it a “ride along” instead of a “drive by”…an error I’ve made more than once.)

    I learned the basics of fingerprinting.

    I participated in a firearms simulator.

    I participated in some basic S.W.A.T. training.

    I learned about the division of “plain clothes” police officers and all they do.

    I learned the ins and outs of the polygraph. (Now that’s something parents of teenagers could use. Or not.)

     I learned the math, science, and technology behind accident reconstruction. 

That is a mere sample of all I’ve learned. I’ll post the links to four other blog posts related to the Citizens Police Academy at the bottom of this page so if you missed one, you can take a look.

It’s been a great opportunity. Yet of all of them, Week 8 will forever stand out in my mind. For me, in many ways, it was the best.

 

The School Resource Officer (SRO) serves on the front line. Just as the rubber bullet is meant to deter a criminal, the SRO is shaping the attitudes, the thinking, of young children and teens before they may decide to move in an unhealthy direction.

 

That same attitude of caring permeates the department. It isn’t about “bad guys and good guys.” It isn’t an “us vs. them” attitude.  

 Despite the sirens, the training, the firearms, the S.W.A.T. team, the shields and the uniforms…

 The big takeaway from my Academy experience …

Is not about “the use of force.”

It’s about “the power of care.”

Now I am a Graduate.

 

I already talked with a gal from the Alumni Association to tell her I want to be a part of that group. She asked me why I took the course. I told her about the suspense book I’m working on involving a string of kidnappings.

“You, know,” she said. “You may want to look into the FBI Citizen’s Academy.”

 

I’m still laughing…though I checked. There is  a website…

As promised: Here are the links to previous posts concerning my Citizen Police Academy Experience in case you missed one. Enjoy.

 

September 7              “Citizen’s Arrest”                               

September 20            “Train, Serve, Protect”                      

October 5                   “Fitted With a Body Cam”               

October 18                 “Special Weapons And Tactics"         

I did it!
Honored to graduate from the West Chester Citizens Police Academy.
L-R: Chief of Police Joel Herzog, Me, Sergeant Michael Bruce, Academy Commander